So the purpose of the 'bailout' - though we're not officially calling it that - is to make credit available to consumers.  Isn't too much buying on credit at the root of our current economic "crisis"!  How is the bailout going to solve the problem?  Isn't that like giving  cocaine to a crackhead?

Many lending institutions are still open for business to lend money to those who will repay the loans.  The only consumers hurt by this "crisis" are those who aren't good risks.  Denying credit to these bad risks is what will get us out of this "crisis".  The question is whether we, as a society, have the fortitude to let the problem work itself out through responsible financial practices.

It may take a while, and there will be some economic pain for all of us in the process. But it will be a true solution, and not a $700 billion  white line to be tooted up by the same people who got us into this "crisis".